To not want to eat Chinese - help me to see if I’m being unreasonable

I'm vegan too, and Chinese is my favourite! OP must have a poor one 😃

Sounds like it isn't Chinese food - just the food / choice from your local. Our Chinese also does Thai food. A lot of Thai places have things similar to Chinese

I imagine you are limited to how many Chinese you can order from and don't have multiple options like some areas?

Could you compromise and go out for a sit down Chinese somewhere with a bigger better menu so you have more options and he is happy?

Do grow up, people!

I kind of get where he's coming from. Part of the pleasure of Indian or Chinese food, to me anyway, is ordering several side dishes to share. If you're ordering just for yourself then lots of side dishes would be overkill and disproportionately expensive. I way prefer Indian food to Chinese but personally I'd indulge him occasionally unless he's generally an uncompromising dick.

I am pretty sure because of your diet he is making concessions when you prepare food at home. Me and my now lovely partner enjoy doing things that make the other happy

Did you read the OP’s posts? The OP has already said they often eat different meals at home and that she is happy for him to order Chineses for himself. He isn’t making “concessions”.

OP isn’t forcing anything on him. He is the one insisting she eat food he likes.

Suggesting she should just eat food she doesn’t like “to make him happy” sounds frankly creepy. What sort of partner enjoys watching their OH eat food that you know they dislike?

My thoughts exactly! It always amazes me that something annoys people so much that they need to post it on here.

I've been vegetarian my whole life and I bloody love chinese! find a decent take away, yours sounds shite.

But why does she have to eat it¹ as well?

She's not proposing stopping him having what he wants. And if they're not sharing, he can have exactly what he wants rather than needing to take the OP's requirements into consideration when ordering. Why is that not good enough?

¹ And fake being excited about eating it, FFS.

I’ve tried those. Yuk!!

I'm with you OP. Also veggie and Chinese is the only cuisine I don't enjoy. I don't know what it is but their veg meals are usually really boring.

Your partner is being really selfish and inflexible.

I do think that if it's his favourite and it means a lot to him, it can't be so bad to have it once in a while? Then have your favourite another time.

But I didn't know it was a thing for couples to order two totally different takeaways and eat them side by side, so can see I'm in the minority here.

Ask him why he needs you to validate his food choices. He sounds very childish and insecure.

My ex was a vegetarian and I have to say after 6 years it became very grating. Most meals we would cook at home were vegetarian and takeaways and restaurants were my main opportunity to eat the food I actually wanted.

Unless you genuinely hate Chinese food, for one takeaway out of 4 or 6 I would let him have what he wants. Realistically we are talking about you having a meal you less than enjoy once every two months, which I don’t think is that big a deal. You don’t have to absolutely love every meal you have.

I am pretty sure because of your diet he is making concessions when you prepare food at home. Me and my now lovely partner enjoy doing things that make the other happy.

You shouldn't have to eat food you don't like at all. But in defence of Chinese food - There are multiple different schools of Chinese cuisine from different bits of China each with some veggie options. Totally possible to live as a veggie in China. And some beautiful vegetarian restaurants especially attached to Buddhist temples etc. You don't get a true reflection of it much in the UK at all. But, that doesn't sound like what you're being offered, so you are not being unreasonable.

I was talking to OP…

Yes of course I am but given the choice I would sooner eat something that I knew what is contained, how long it had been in the pan, how old it was……….

As someone who hates chinese food YANBU. Life's too short to eat something you don't like, especially expensive treat food that you don't like. Eat what you want.

Yes, I'm perfectly aware that large cities have more choices. I used to live near a fantastic vegan Chinese in Camden.

A lot of people do not live in large cities. Almost half don't live in any sort of city. The many PP saying 'just try a different regional style', 'get the claypot aubergine' are apparently not aware of this.

I guess you’re not in London, here there are vegan and vegetarian Chinese restaurants.

Exactly.

And what omnivores won't realsed is that a lot of things that appear vegetarian actually aren't (pork fat, oyster sauce, dried shrimp etc as unlisted additions), so the choice is always less than is seems from the menu.

I've just thad a look at a local Chinese takaway's menu and the total 'definitely vegetarian' choices are mixed veg in 5 different sauces, and the veg spring rolls. There are 2 chow meins and a foo yung that look veggie but I'd need to check ingredients.

That's it. Five variations on 1 thing, 2 variations on another, and a mushroom omelette.

Such choice!

More likely she just has a rubbish Chinese takeaway in which case they are both better off going elsewhere.

He’s being a knob. You are not stopping him having Chinese or forcing him to eat anything he doesn’t like. He OTOH is trying to force you to eat food you don’t like.

For all the posters telling the OP to “just” order <insert veggie dish here> - not all Chinese restaurants are the same. I’m veggie and have often struggled to get decent veggie food in Chinese restaurants, especially in cheaper places with premade gloopy sauces. At others the choice is amazing with everything fresh and made in house.
I find in city centres it tends to be better but overall I find the quality of Chinese takeaways is much more variable than many other cuisines.

I would just get separate takeaways or eat something different on the night he wants Chinese food.

Have to say though I absolutely love deep fried bean curd and other vegetable and mushroom dishes on a good Chinese takeaway menu, even though I do eat meat and fish.

DH hates eggs and mushrooms. I don't make him eat mushroom omelette but I certainly eat it myself!

You didn’t even read what OP put did you lol she’s vegetarian so hardly likely to order chicken 😂

And all these tasty options are available from the OP's local takeaway, are they?